Shredders, of course, are not new. Many of the inventor's prior patents have disclosed various types of shredders for the purpose of reducing municipal and industrial waste, tires, timber, and so forth. As to the rotor of the shredder, it has been suggested previously the collars and bushings be employed for the blades or, as in the case of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,232 entitled "SHREDDER STRUCTURE AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREIN," that the shaft be economically grooved and the blades seated within such grooves.
It has been found that the present invention clearly reduces the cost of providing shafts having split blades. The blades, of course, must necessarily be split herein, and the individual segments are actually bolted or otherwise attached directly to the shaft. This supplies both ease of construction and reduction of manufacturing expense, as well as providing a highly effective revolving blade construction.
Prior patents have also taught various types of reaction means or anvil structures. None of those of which the inventor is aware teaches both the concept of providing an open interior beneath the rotor such that the reaction or cutter bars stop short of the central area of the shredder, and also that the individual cutter bar segments with their upright support blocks are both independently removable and replaceable and also supported from underneath the same by primary support means. Various patents are known as below delineated but none of these teach the important concept of securing blades as by threaded bolt means to a shaft at a point registering with the grooves inner surfaces and also providing stationary shredding or shearing structure wherein supported upright blocks or their equipment are individually removable and replaceable and provided with removable and replaceable cutter bar segments.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,419,407 1,444,035 2,552,166 2,919,075 2,973,979 3,159,047 3,578,252 3,845,907 3,893,635 3,931,935 3,951,346